Edinburgh Ghost Tour vs Ghost Walk vs Ghost Bus

Edinburgh sells its ghost stories in three formats: a tour that takes you inside somewhere, usually the South Bridge Vaults; a walk that stays on the street; and a comedy horror bus. They share a city and a subject and not much else. This page sets out what you get from each and who each one suits.

The three formats at a glance

Prices from GetYourGuide, checked October 2026; operators change prices by season.

Option 1: the vaults and Greyfriars

The Haunted Vaults and Graveyard Tour, run by Auld Reekie Tours, meets on the Royal Mile at 300 Lawnmarket, opposite Deacon Brodie’s Tavern, and covers two places.

Greyfriars Kirkyard, the old burial ground at the top of Candlemaker Row: Greyfriars Bobby, the Gothic mausoleums and the body snatchers who came for fresh graves.

The South Bridge Vaults, the chambers built into the arches of South Bridge after 1785. You step down about two feet at the doorway and take a spiral stair inside. The guide walks you through several chambers and tells you who used them, from tradesmen to the city’s poorest, and what visitors have reported since.

Only guided tours can take you into the vaults. Greyfriars Kirkyard itself is open to anyone, day and night, but its walled Covenanters’ Prison is locked, and the council or a specialist night tour is needed to get inside. The Greyfriars guide explains who is buried where.

It suits anyone who wants to see these places rather than hear about them from the pavement.

Option 2: the Old Town ghost walk

Ghost walks stay outside. The Dark Secrets of the Old Town walk gained the most new reviews of any of them in October 2026: two hours with a local guide, through the closes, Canongate Kirkyard and Old Calton, covering the plague, the witch trials and Burke and Hare. It is rated 4.6 from 2,834 reviews and runs in English, German and French, from $27 per person.

There are also tip-based walks on the Royal Mile. They cover similar ground, you pay what you think the tour was worth at the end, and they do not go into the vaults.

A walk suits anyone who wants the stories more than the sites, and anyone who would rather avoid tight stairs, low ceilings and dark underground rooms.

Option 3: the Ghost Bus

The Comedy Horror Ghost Bus runs 75 minutes on a black vintage double-decker from George IV Bridge, outside the Central Library. It is theatre: an actor plays the conductor and the route around the Old Town and New Town is the backdrop. It does not stop to go inside anywhere. From $28 per person, rated 4.5 from 4,891 reviews.

It suits families with children too young for the vaults, people who want laughs as much as frights, and anyone who finds long walks on cobbles hard. See the Ghost Bus.

Which one should you book?

Prices, ratings and review counts from GetYourGuide, checked October 2026; operators change prices by season, so treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.

Other places to go inside

The Real Mary King’s Close is the other underground visit in the Old Town: a 17th-century street under the City Chambers, seen on a one-hour guided tour by day or evening. It is social history rather than a ghost tour. The Mary King’s Close tickets guide has its prices and age rules.

For adults who want the strongest version of the vaults, the Late-Night Vaults Terror Tour is 18 and over only and goes further into the vault network after dark.